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Oh Happy Day!

I went to an extra effort to vote yesterday and candidates that I supported in a special run-off election won. In my District for the City of Phoenix Council, Thelda Williams won against a new Tea Party candidate Eric Frederick. For City of Phoenix Mayor the Democrat won, Greg Stanton. This is good news as far as I am concerned. The city typically votes in a Democrat for the position, which helps to keep the rabid right on the state, county and other municipalities somewhat at bay. Phil Gordon, the outgoing mayor, has held the office since 2004.

What is sad about this election? Only 1/4 of possible voters participated. For a special run-off election that might even be good turn out…but it still seems awfully low to me, particularly in such troubling times.

One more bit of w0nderfully delicious news is that in District 18 (down in Mesa) Senator Russell Pearce (a Tea Party candidate) was successfully recalled. Not only was the recall historic, the fact that he lost by 8% is also one for the record books. Although not all early ballots had been counted, it is pretty much a done deal. The winner, Jerry Lews (no not that one), a fellow Republican was critical of Pearce’s support for SB1070 and his enforcement only stance on immigration reform.

I am hoping that the removal of Pearce will remove some of the extreme zealotry from the state’s Republican party so that dialog on the state’s problems can resume. Furthermore, Pearce being out of the picture would mean that Gov. Brewer has one less lockstep voter and cheerleader to help her slowly destroy the state.

Unfortunately, Lewis has already indicated that he considers Pearce his friend and that he looks forward to working on legislation with him. Wrong answer Sen. Lewis. Pearce is now just another constituent, one among many. His voice should hold no more weight than any other. But we know that’s not how it works in AZ. Those Republicans, especially Mormon politicians, tend to stick together. Only time will tell if the change is a good one. Nevertheless I still want to celebrate the win because Pearce needed a little karmic push back and the voters delivered that yesterday. It was about damn time!